Foams and the like. Andy Elliott

5062009

Whether you subscribe to the hype surrounding “molecular gastronomy” or not, it’s hard to argue that it has had little effect on the American fine dining scene. Chefs all over the country have started filling their menu descriptions with words like gel, foam, and powder. A lot of people think this is a passing fad, and to a certain extent they’re right. Not every restaurant, no matter how hard they try, is going to be able to replicate the success and creative genius behind restaurants like elBulli, The Fat Duck, and Alinea. What they can take from these specific restaurants, and restaurants like them, are new ingredients and new techniques without actually letting that avante garde style define them. For example, I staged at BOKA and it’s essentially a pretty good American fine dining restaurant. The menu is seasonal and pretty straight foward, and you don’t need to guess what’s on every plate. However, they still have preparations like “coconut foam” on a few of their dishes. This is basically where I feel the fine dining segment of the industry is headed – seasonal ingredients and the use of new techniques to add a nice suprise or textural element to a dish that keeps diners interested.